Check out this picture....this is it in a nutshell:
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WHY do clothing manufacturers put out sweaters for boys and sleeveless or short-sleeve dresses for girls??? The majority of this country doesn't live in places that are warm in December (heck, we used to live in Florida and sometimes it was cold even there). If the weather is appropriate for the sweaters on the boys, those little girls would be freezing. Sure, you can put a cardigan over the dress, but what's the point in buying a pretty dress and then covering it up? They should all have at least one long-sleeve dress at the holidays.

Rant over.

Maureen

Ha ha on me! I looked at the photo and THOUGHT you were going to point out the "token" African American child in the picture.....which is one of my pet peeves about advertising.....

That said, I was never aware that this was an issue having not been blessed with children of the female persuasion....and having a Mom who made all our holiday garb. What else is funny to me is that the boys I'm familiar with either find sweater too hot or not something that they'd wear....LOL....so nobody's happy with these choices!

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I totally agree. Personally, we are a "comfy" Christmas family. I can't imagine making my kids dress up (which is uncomfortable for them anyway) and then sit and open gifts?

I also feel the same way about Easter Dresses. We don't buy those either but they are ALWAYS sleeveless, lightweight wisps of things. Well, it can be rainy and cold here. I see all these cute dresses on girls with cold weather costs over them. I mean it *might* hit 70 or so but not usually. It's like they are only making dresses for kids who live in warm climate areas year-round

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

Yep - I think it is so that you have to buy more - either a long sleeve shirt to go under it or a dressy jacket/sweater to go over it!

My girls wore Christmas sweaters when they were younger, but we're not a "dress up" family either. We look nice on the holidays, but not fancy.

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

IMHO Christmas dressup isn't for opening presents. Dressup is for parties and going to church. When DD was younger she always had a new dress for Christmas which she wore to church.

Ah, thanks for clarifying. We don't have Christmas parties that we dress up for (and the ones we do have don't have children...adults only) and we don't go to church. I imagined that Christmas dresses were maybe for church and parties but primarily for Christmas Day and/or the celebration of Christmas (maybe you do it on xmas eve).

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

Yes! I absolutely agree, OP! Living in the far northern climates, it is often well below zero on Christmas. When my DD's were younger it was always a search to find a beautiful dress and then some sweater to put over it that would match both the style and the weight of the fabric. NEVER have I seen a long sleeve Christmas dress for girls (unless it was a skirt/sweater top deal.) It was even more of a challenge when my oldest DD got to be about 12 -- of course she wanted something a little more mature, but she still wanted a dress.
Thanks for your rant...it's obviously hit a sore spot with me, still!
Here's hoping all of our daughters stay warm this Christmas!
(And don't even start me on Easter dresses! )


P.S. My avatar picture was taken in June...and yes, we had to find wraps for both of those dresses as well!

I work in print advertising for a newspaper and a glossy magazine the the whole idea is to make the ads catch your eye by being interesting. When you browse through a publication your eyes will automatically go directly to a person's face. This is why I always encourage advertisers to include their picture or an employee's picture even if they are selling something as boring as a range or washer and dryer. People like to look at other people. If you look at an ad of a washer and dryer it probably won't stick in your mind but if I feature it with someone pulling out fresh sheets from the dryer, it might make an impression.

Duh, it's because it doesn't matter how girls FEEL, only how they LOOK. As long as they look cute who gives a crap if they're freezing, they're only girls and thus have no real feelings.

(Yes, I'm being sarcastic but there are times I really feel this way. Like it or not there are many people in this country who still treat women like second class citizens)

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Jesus SAVES by shopping smartly and using double coupons!

Have you tried Hanna Andersson , They have long sleeve dresses for girls. I love their quality and they great sales. Its a pain finding appropriate clothes for girls and not just weather appropriate. So many "in" styles even for toddlers are trashy. I remember when my DD was younger being horrified they had thongs for little little girls or leather mini's etc.

I think they're adorable. But you are all right they are very impractical.

We used to dress up for Church then put on "regular" clothes when we came home. Our family is a "Christmas Eve" family it is customary in the Italian culture to celebrate Eve rather than day. So after church we would come home or go to Aunt's and eat a meal of some leftovers and some new stuff.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

Completely off topic here, but what store was that ad for?

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I've had a Foreman Grill for about six years. I've done about 85% of my cooking on it, but I've never burnt myself. Probably because I don't use it as a pillow.

I love Hanna clothes, and when she was little, my older DD was in them constantly. They are expensive, but last forever. (We had one pair of tights that went through FIVE girls!) But, they are a certain "style" of clothes...once my older DD was about 8 she didn't want them anymore. And my younger DD never liked them, not nearly enough bling for her! As my niece once said about my daughters' fashion sense "You ended up with a Hanna Andersson and a Hannah Montana!"

Well, Living in California it does get cold here at Christmas; but, since when wearing these dresses girls will most probably NOT be outside playing in the cold, wearing a sweater or coat over them to get from your mode of transportation into the house should not detract too much from the dress for that short while. That would be my thinking, at least. My daughter usually had short sleeves (can't remember sleeveless ever for Christmas) after she was probably 3 or so; but I do remember finding long sleeves from birth to 3 for holidays here.

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

It's for the Carters stores....we have one in our local outlets.

Maureen

I have noticed the past few years it seems to be a trend that girls here in areas that get cold in the winter are wearing what I would have called in the past 'summer clothes' year round. That is tanks, short sleeves, minis (w/bare legs) Back in the day, we definitely dressed differently in the winter. Our moms would put away our summer clothes in the winter, and vice versa.

That is so odd...... I was always able to find long-sleeved red velvet dresses for my DD when she was little.

One year, she wore a darling long-sleeved red velvet blouse with a pair of black satin pants.

I love Hannah's too. I buy the pjs for me when they go on clearance. Very warm in the winter time.

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Live, Love, Laugh

I agree, it's never been a problem to find a blouse/pant combo or even a skirt/sweater set combo. The problem for us always came when we wanted to find just a simple long sleeve dress. I couldn't believe it when my oldest dd was little, but it proved itself, with few exceptions (really, none that I can remember, I'm just hedging my bets here ) over the years. For some reason my girls always equated skirts and slacks for every week church going...and real dresses for the really special occassions.

The real issue, I think, is the one brought up by the OP. If it is cold enough for little boys to be in sweaters. (and in most northern climates its a bigger issue than just being outside -- when it's -20F outside, it's drafty inside as well ) then why would we assume that little girls wouldn't be cold in their spaghetti straps and short sleeves?

Maybe things are changing...as my girls get older, obviously our definition of "Christmas dress" changes. I think I would be hard pressed to put my older dd in a cute little cardigan over her dress anymore! This is probably nothing more than manufacturers responding to the requests of their customers, but it has certainly hit home with me over the years!